Caring For Your Body After a Body Lift

Getting a full body lift in Houston is a great way to improve your physical appearance and feel excited about your body again after a significant weight loss.

The recovery time for a body lift depends on each individual patient and the extent of the procedure. Tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts, and breast lifts generally have a recovery period of around four to six weeks, but some patients may require a little more time to heal completely. The best way to a full recovery is to practice self-care while you are healing. Here are some tips to help you care for your body after body lift surgery.

Keep Your Incisions Clean

When you are recovering from body lift surgery, it’s likely that you will have small incisions that are covered with dressings or bandages. You need to keep these areas completely clean to reduce the chance of infection. Your doctor will give you care instructions regarding how often to clean the incisions and change the dressings, but it’s important not to touch them or expose them to anything that could harm the wounds.

Follow Your Doctor’s Orders

Your doctor will give you specific orders on which medications to take orally or apply topically in order to aid in the healing process. Make sure to follow these instructions and to check in with your doctor if you have any questions.

Care for Surgical Drains

Some procedures will require small, thin tubes to be placed temporarily under the skin in order to drain excess blood following the procedure. This is a routine procedure but you will need to clean and empty the drains in order to prevent infection (your nurse will provide you with instructions). Contact your surgeon immediately if you notice any of these signs of infection:

Spreading redness around the drain or incision

Increased pain, swelling, or warmth over the surgical area

Cloudy discharge from the incision or drain site

Fever greater than 100.4 degrees

Rest

The weeks following surgery are the most important time for you to rest. You don’t want to push yourself by moving around too much or straining your muscles. Schedule your operation during a period when you can take time off to heal and give your body a break. The results will be much better if you give yourself time to heal completely before resuming normal activity.

Bathe Carefully

You’ll want to continue to bathe regularly throughout the healing process, but do so carefully. Don’t wash the area too aggressively and only use gentle soaps so you don’t irritate your skin. Ask your cosmetic surgeon about specific questions you have regarding how soon you can bathe and how to avoid injuring the surgical area.

Eat Healthy

Being in good aerobic conditioning and having good nutritional status after a body lift can help your body stay strong and recover without any problems. Use your recovery time as a period where you focus on your nutritional goals and only fill your body with healthy foods and nutrients. You’ll probably be tired after the procedure, and making improvements to your diet can help give you more energy.

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions you might have about body lifts and the recovery period after them.